Page 47 of Ignite
Aster nods, his gaze stormy. “But we still don’t have a way togetto the dagger.”
They don’t, but Adrian does.
I suck in a sharp breath, my thoughts racing.
Adrian was able to cross through without being trapped in the Shadow Lands, along with the Lyle boys, Reichardt, and a few soldiers. If their plan was to bring me to Crea…then they knew they had a way to get back.
“We may not know,” I rasp, my hands beginning to shake as I realize what this means—whereI’m going back to. “But Adrian does.”
Leda hisses through her teeth while Willow and Aster take a step toward me, eyes wide. They know that there are humans in Penyth, but not that they came from Crea.
“And you’re going to trust him to tell you the truth?” Leda snorts a laugh.
I’ll never be able to trust Adrian again. The only thing I canrely on is that he wants to get home more than he wants to be stuck here. My chest tightens, and I swallow down the bile creeping up my throat.
“Adrian wants to get home; he hates Penyth—hates fae and magic,” I reason. “I don’t think he’ll help me cross from the goodness of his heart.” A dull ache forms behind my temples. “He hates that I’m fae now.”
Despite everything Adrian has done, it’s hard to forget who he once was to me. He was a boy who became my friend, someone who cared aboutme, not just whose name I had.
He wormed his way into my life, and now—lying to me, withholding information about Linnick’s death, killing his father… Well, I suppose I killed the man who raised me, too.
My jaw clenches, teeth pressing together until the sound of them grinding grates against my ears.
“You could be walking right into a trap, playing into their hand by going back there,” Leda whispers, her voice softening. “Don’t forget Moros is the one who encouraged Adrian to come get you.”
Calix shakes his head. “But we don’t know his motivation for that. He could’ve done that just to get Adrian out of the way so he could rule.”
“Maybe Moros didn’t believe Adrian would make it back,” Sidra murmurs.
Maddox signs with his hands. Orla and Sidra watch intently. Sidra nods and adds, “Maddox agrees it could’ve been a mission destined to fail, hoping they didn’t come back at all.”
A weight settles onto my shoulders, pressing down so hard that my hands shoot out to grip the edge of the cot.
“Lu?” Calix crouches down beside me, his brows pulling together as his gaze flicks down my body—one warrior assessing another.
“I’m good, I just need a minute,” I huff, my eyes heavy.
Willow slips away, her feet pattering across the wooden floorboards. “Mylah?” she calls out, disappearing outside.
I wave Calix off. “I’mfine, I promise.”
Mylah hurries in, her gaze on me, with Willow trailing behind her. She shoos Calix away and takes his place, pressing the back of her hand to my forehead.
“You need to rest,” she says softly. “I’ll get you some broth and mix in a few tonics. You should be right as rain in the morning.”
Restis the last thing I want. That’s all we’ve done since we got here, and if I’ve already been out for a few days, then haven’t I rested enough?
I shake my head and lean away from her. “I don’t need rest; we need to talk to Adrian?—”
Brielle’s deep and steady voice cuts me off. “You were just knocked out for overa daybecause one of the Divine swept your subconscious to another plane.”
My gaze finds hers, and I fall quiet.
“We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.”
Leda nods her head to the others, signaling for them to follow her. “We’ll talk to Adrian, see what we can get out of him,” she promises. “Rest now so we can get out of here.”
I swallow, hating that as the words leave her mouth, my eyes begin to blink more slowly. Sleep calls to me, beckoning me to my dreams. As much as I want to fight her—and everyone else—on this, I can’t deny the way my limbs tremble and my vision blurs.
